It’s Christmas. This is one of my favourite times of the year, filled with the nostalgia of cookie baking marathons with my mom and the excitement around planning our menu for the big day. Often for Christmas I receive cookbooks as gifts and, as a result, I now own a lot of cookbooks. So many books, in fact, that we have run out of shelving space for them* (and they have a rather large, dedicated shelf). The stray ones can be found in stacks on random side tables throughout our home, and I never get tired of picking them up to flip through – no matter how familiar their content becomes.

Despite this large collection, I have to admit, I rarely make recipes from the books. That’s not to say they don’t have an impact on me, as they certainly provide inspiration; and I’m sure influence my cooking thought process in ways of which I am unaware. Nevertheless, when I pick up a book I haven’t looked at in a few months, I’m always reminded of the great recipes on its pages that I really should make sometime.

With that in mind, this year in the days leading up to Christmas I have set out to make 12 different recipes, from 12 different cookbooks. This will be our second Christmas not returning to Ontario for the holidays and I hope that friends and family back home enjoy following along and, by doing so, can feel a little more connected to us this season. Maybe it’ll even persuade some of you to come West next year?!

Merry Christmas everyone!

*Please don’t let this statement be a deterrent. More are always welcome…

Four Amongst Three is dedicated sharing food knowledge through stories, while shedding light on issues in food security. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, recipes feature locally sourced, sustainable ingredients.